Finding Your Level

A while back, I wrote a post titled Negative Motivation where I discussed how photography competitions ended up being a negative force working against my creativity. I thought the competitions would push me to the next level with my photography but they actually had the opposite effect. I thought about this post again as I have been reading some of my favorite photoblogs lately.

George Barr has posted parts one and two of a three part series on taking your photography to the next level on Luminous Landscape. Colin Jago and Paul Butzi have discussed George’s series and raised some interesting issues with the approach that George suggested. I don’t intend any disrespect toward George as I enjoy reading his blog. However, as I commented on Paul’s blog, I tend to agree with he and Colin on this one. It is so difficult to get good useful feedback on your photography. The people giving the feedback mean well but I feel that sometimes the artist must figure out on their own if their images are successful. This is certainly difficult to do because artists are sometimes the worst judges of their own work. However, we can often be the worst judges of other artists’ work as well.

I like Paul Butzi’s “Art is a Verb” criteria:

1. Does this work open up new avenues for me to explore?

2. Do I understand more about anything as a result of making this work?